Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Amsterdam (to name just a few) are embracing and supporting the many sub-genres of the UK Garage sound, with just as many individuals pushing smaller scenes around the world. Like most DJs and ravers, many of them got into UKG from either a DrumnBass or a house background, wanting something more vocal with fat basslines and the energy that was missing from whichever scene they were leaving. The first in a two part special, this feature takes a broad look at the crews and individuals pushing UKG from the London Underground into the world's overground.

The Reason?
Asked why many have moved to a sound that anyone living in London Town has taken for granted, many come up with the same answer... Chicago's Casper (from HeavyweightSound.com) got locked onto the sound after " hearing a live set with MC's, and the crowd response just got me hooked. It reminded me of old jungle events " Those that have visited London couldn't help but notice the scatty beats and rollin' basslines flowing across the city. Reminiscing on his first trip to the UK, SoulChampion's G Notorious says: "I had never experienced a city so inundated with one kind of music! It was everywhere! Casper [from Chicago] came over halfway through the time I was there. He'd already been playing the stuff back in Chicago where he lives now. I bought so many records I had to throw away half the clothes I'd brought with me to fit them all in my luggage. He continues to explain that the beauty of it was that, " I could go from a girly vocal tune to a ragga tune to an MC tune to a 4/4, back to vocally stuff, and it all made sense!"

The Scene
As with most DJs/crew or MCs, many of those abraod have come to UKG via a number of different routes and more established scenes in their homeland. Whether it's Drum&Bass, House, US Garage, or the Breaks scene, they've all taken UKG to the crowds.From Canada's Wiggle Kru who play out the more vocal and 2-Step cuts, to Sydney's Garage Pressure / DarkSyde Crew who are pushing the darker sounds from record labels like Bingo, Texture & Tempa, all of UKG's subgenres seem to have inflicted some damage upon dancefloors across the globe. Garage Pressure have already brought over established names such as Oris Jay & Zed Bias to DJ in Australia, while Emma Feline is one name that can regularly be found on the few, scattered nights across the US.

Where's UKG gonna go?
As the sound of the underground takes longer to reach those abroad and is often slower to establish anthems because of the lack of a pirate radio network, there seems to be a more balanced view of where UKG is gonna go in 2003. SoulChampion's DJ Inanna thinks that " eveything seems to be in a state of flux. Music is changing and the scene is changing. Producers in both the Breaks and House genres are experimenting. More live instruments are being combined with electronic production tools and methods. It seems like Breaks, House, and Garage are all merging together, creating new sounds with classic quality US producers are taking Garage to a different place than the UK has. Some of the new Garage has an overlying house sound to it, and vice versa. " G Notorious comments that " from what I've seen, heard, and read, it looks like the whole MC/Crew thing is ready to go big time. I think certain people are also positioned to really bring vocal tunes back, and there seems to be a lot of excitement about more classic type 4/4 stuff. It's all good to me. I hope all three of those things happen more and more. The more I have to choose from when I'm pulling records out of my bag, the better! "

For Further Info:
BOSTON - SoulChampion.com
CHICAGO - HeavyweightSound.com
DALLAS - TuffBreaks.com MINNEAPOLIS - Garageand2step.com
TEXAS - Texas2Step.org
TORONTO - FlirtCanada.net
VANCOUVER - Wiggle.ca
SYDNEY - GaragePressure.com
GERMANY - UKGarage.de Tunes/Producers/Productions to look out for...
ABSTRACT & GOLDSPOT PRODUCTIONS
JASON MUNDO TRACKS
IRIS PRODUCTIONS FROM CHICAGO
DJ NOEL / THE SCO FROM WEST COAST USA
GEESIXCRU PRODUCTIONS
FSM RECORD LABEL FROM BOSTON Next Issue:
A more in-depth analysis of some of the major players abroad and what they're planning... UKG is blowing up in...
BOSTON
CHICAGO
TEXAS
MINNEAPOLIS
TORONTO
VANCOUVER
SYDNEY
AMSTERDAM

Where do they get their vinyl?
Distributors abroad rarely stock the records these UKG junkies are after - where can they get their hands on all the latest promo presses & new releases? From these internet based shope...
Juno.co.uk, Big Apple Records, City-Sounds, Chemical-Records, Uptown Records, Blackmarket, Pure Groove, Groovetech.com